Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $3.1\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$184$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${3.1\%} \times {\$184} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $3.1\%$ is equivalent to $3.1 \div 100$ $3.1 \div 100 = 0.031$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.031$ $\times$ $$184$ = $$5.70$ You would pay $$5.70$ in sales tax.